The End of an Era, The Rise of a New Age
by Girl-of-Action
Summary: In a kingdom where magic is strictly banned and with it the citizens' very nature mercilessly suppressed, I knew it was only a matter of time until the people rose up for a new age where they are free to use their God given gift... I just didn't think the end of this era would begin at my stepmother's haunted house party. AU!Featuring many characters, written mainly from Lucy's POV
1. Introduction: My Dear Lucy

My Dear Lucy,

I know that we did not part on the best of terms, but I ask you, no plead that you continue reading. I know that there is probably nothing I can say or write to renew the relationship we once had, but it is my hope that after attending this forthcoming event that you will at least not detest me so.

I have rented the House on Haunted Hill for my wife's, your stepmother's, party she has been after. A Haunted House Party… She's so amusing, isn't she? With rumors for the last few decades circling about or family being cursed and haunted, she couldn't help but formulate this snide, mocking response. How adorable. I asked her why we couldn't just host the party at the Heartfilia Manor considering these rumors, but she insisted on the House on Haunted Hill, going on about proper atmosphere needed and the like. Apparently our home isn't filled with enough cobwebs and creaking floorboards, thank the stars for that. I must remember to give dear Spetto a raise for her hard work, don't let me forgot, though I know even if I had not added that you wouldn't allow me to forget anyhow. What a sweet girl you are, especially to those less fortunate than our noble standing. You could do so much more for them at home if that is your wish… But enough of that.

Now I'm sure you would like to know some of the details of the party. There will of course be food, drink, ghosts and perhaps even a few murders according to my _beloved _Ultear. By now you may have heard of your stepmother's somewhat morbid sense of humor. Or, perhaps not. You have been away for so long. Now that I contemplate it, I realize you have probably not even seen a portrait of her. I will be sure to send one and a little something else along with this letter. Onto the topic of the other guests, unlike them I feel obliged to tell my daughter who she will possibly be staying with for the three days.

First, Loke of the prominent Lionheart family. Like you he has quite the _adventurous _spirit. He's a well known horse tamer, turning the most violent of the creatures into docile companions. Mr. Lionheart is no doubt a brave man, but don't you think you could be much braver if you were payed for it? Yes, my dear, if you agree to come and stay the three days, just like the other guests, you will be paid 10,000,000 Jewels… I also happen to know that Mr. Lionheart needs the 10,000,000 Jewels, partly due to the unfortunate fact that his family disowned him for his _adventures _spirit. What a wretched practice, that. No matter how spirited a son or daughter is they are still your son and daughter, and no amount of paperwork or distance can change that.

The next guest I invited was Jenny Realight. No doubt you have heard of her modeling the latest fashions at the capitol. She says her reason for coming is to get the feel for an upcoming ghost themed fashion show. She's also desperate for money. Gambling.

I hear you have already met Gray Vastia, a minor noble who rented the House on Haunted Hill himself for his own party. After a terrible incident there he bores a deep hatred, perhaps even fear for the place and yet now he is willing to spend three days there. I wonder why. He says for money.

Then we have one Dr. Jellal Fernandes, a psychiatrist. He claims that the ghosts will help his work on hysteria and he is not really interested in the money. He told me this with no evident fear or hesitation, holding up his friendly, yet professional demeanor. The respected Dr. Fernandes I've seen when interacting with my lovely Ultear is ever the gentleman, but besides his polite mildness I think you will find him to your tastes. He gives off a mystifying air, according to Ultear. She apparently has tried several times to learn about a tattoo covering the right side of his face face, but failed each time. Maybe you will have more luck?

Last but certainly not least is you, my dear Lucy. At least, I and your stepmother deeply hope so. If you wish, we are even willing to ignore all relations to you for your stay. For all intents and purposes you can be just another guest. Please, think about it and send your response at your soonest convenience. A funeral carriage will be at your place of work to pick you up at seven pm in exactly two weeks from when this letter is sent. The funeral carriages… Another of your stepmother's ideas. Have I mentioned how amusing she is?

Your Father,  
Jude Heartfilia

**Girl-of-Action- So, a new story folks! I feel like I have learned a lot about writing over the past months and am ready to try my hand at a novel once more. I have a nice backlog of chapters that I will be going over and over with a fine tooth comb, so no uploading as soon as I finish it like I used to. I hope you all enjoyed this little introduction. Some of you, if you are into classic horror, might find this a bit familiar. This story was originally based on the old black and white "House on Haunted Hill" film, but in since then has changed **_**a lot**_**. It has definitely taken a life of its own. I'm not quite sure when I'll be updating, it'll probably depend on how confident I feel with the next chapter and if it still fits as my ideas for this story continue to evolve. That, and what my reviews say. Please tell me what you all think in a review, it would be greatly appreciated!**

Until later! *cartwheels away*


	2. Chapter One: A Rough Journey Home?

**Girl-of-Action- Alright! So here's the first chapter, I thought I should post another one soon since the introduction is so small… That, and I realized I forgot to repost the summary and write a disclaimer… ^^;**

Summary: In a kingdom where magic is strictly banned and with it the citizens' very nature mercilessly suppressed, I knew it was only a matter of time until the people rose up for a new age where they are free to use their God given gift... I just didn't think the end of this era would begin at my stepmother's haunted house party. AU!Featuring many characters, written mainly from Lucy's POV

**Disclaimer: Guess what~ This is a disclaimer! I don't own Fairy Tail and never will! Betcha didn't see that coming~**

"Lucy! Be careful!" comes the usual worried shout.

"I know, I know!" I waved reassuringly to the pair rowing through Magnolia's canal. John gives a small, concerned wave back and his stoic older brother nodded politely as he continues to row. The pair were usually rowing supplies along this part of the canal when I went to my night shift and sometimes I would just walk along the edge and talk to them. Well, talk to John. The most anyone could really get out of his older brother was a grunt or nod. I couldn't talk that day though, I was late for work! I had been looking for some odd job I could do in my free time to earn a bit of extra money, but I let time get away from me and when I glanced at my pocket watch, I was already one minute late for my shift. Where I work you may be wondering? Only the most awesome place in all of the kingdom of Fiore! Fairy Tail! It's the most popular Tavern/Inn and run by only the craziest, friendliest bunch in the whole world! It even has a rich history. I heard that before magic was banned four hundred years ago after the defeat of the world's strongest mage, the Dark Mage Lord Zeref, the building we used was actually home to a Mage Guild and is still in good condition because of the enchantments put on it! Cool, huh?

I ran through the streets of Magnolia, doing my best to tie my apron behind my back and get my long blonde hair into a presentable bun. Every so often I would glance up at the troubled sky, glowing dimly from the silver moon no doubt hidden behind the storm clouds. I shivered, hoping that I wouldn't get rained on. I also hoped that my two friends still rowing on the canal would hurry up and get out of the water before the storm hit. With the the a storm looming overhead, I was even more determined to get to work and started to sprint. Not an easy task in high heels, lemme tell you!

Soon enough though, I saw the top of the Fairy Tail Tavern and Inn. In a matter of moments the whole complex came into view as I sprinted onto Magnolia's central path and headed directly south. It is a huge two story building that is styled to look like a miniature castle and is one of the few non government buildings in Magnolia that is made out of stone, not the average wood. Behind it is the Inn complex that houses the guests. It also houses the employees who work full time and have agreed to work for partial pay and room and board. There's a fancy stone fence with a black rod iron gate that is nearly always open. I ran through with a big grin, looking around at the green vegetation in the front yard. I appreciated the flowers kept alive and well trimmed by the gardener this Spring when suddenly I noticed someone straight ahead and skid to a halt, my teeth chattering and brown eyes wide. "E-Erza!" I stammered, starting to hyperventilate.

Erza, a tall, menacing woman in silver armour on her upper body and a blue skirt on her lower stood at the entrance to Fairy Tail's main building, holding a large silver sword with the tip pressed down into the dirt in front of her. The sword looks as tall as her and had to weigh nearly as much, but I know her skill and monstrous strength with which she can use the blade so I am not shocked. _What is _she _doing here?!_I'd wondered, panicking. _Tonight is supposed to be Elfman's shift! _I said as much out loud, laughing nervously. "W-what are you doing here, isn't it Elfman's shift tonight?"

Beneath Erza's flowing red hair covering part of her face, I could have _sworn _that I saw two flashes of red were her eyes should be… Oh boy, Erza can be _so _scary! I heard from Mr. Makarov once, Fairy Tail's owner, that before Erza became Fairy Tail's bouncer she used to be a bounty hunter and could scare criminals into surrendering just by looking at them! He said the same thing about Mirajane, the barmaid, but I can't see her hurting a fly. Erza, on the other hand…

"Lucy…" she greeted, her tone of voice ice cold.

"Yes?!" I squeaked, trembling terribly but trying to maintain some sense of dignity.

"You are late." Was it just me or did the shadows just darken around Erza? Welp, there went my dignity.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me, I promise I'll do better!" I cried out, bowing deeply on my knees, the ground cold and scraping but I didn't care. Some people may say that this was over-dramatic. Some people may not have meet Erza Scarlet.

A dreadful silence as I kept my head bowed, to afraid to look up at the she-demon until I felt an gauntleted hand on my shoulder. I went to scream, but it came out as a weak "Meep!" instead. It took me a terror filled moment to realize that the gesture was meant to be comforting.

"Worry not, my friend. I know that you keep your promises, unlike others..." I tilt my head back up to see Erza glance over one shoulder. She was glaring at someone… Ah, Natsu. A bartender, though one wouldn't know by looking at him. From what I have seen normal bartenders tend to care about the state of the Tavern they work in and especially his glasses and drinks. Natsu couldn't care less what got broken when brawling broke out… Many of said brawls being actually started by _him._ Thankfully Mirajane is usually fast enough to clear the bar of anything that could be broken and Erza is usually fast enough to stop the brawl before they get to out of hand. When I first saw a fight started by Natsu, I thought he was going to get fired! Apparently though he's immune to being fired or something since Makrov never even hinted to firing him. Yelled his ear off, of course. Take away his privileges, sure. But… Never that. I guess its because everyone is so close at Fairy Tail that its almost like we're a big family instead of mere coworkers! Have I mentioned how much I loved it at Fairy Tail?

Anyways, Natsu seemed to have realized that our resident, friendly she-demon was staring daggers at him. The Pinkette slowly turned his attention from wiping clean a glass to meet Erza's gaze, his black eyes widening. He glanced from Erza to me, to Erza to me again. He wore that trade mark Oh-_crap-_what-did-I-do-to-tick-off-Erza?! expression that we all (except for MiraJane) wore when confronted with the supposed woman's fury. I gave a one shouldered, helpless shrug to him with a semi-pitying look. Semi-pitying because although I felt bad for him, I was kinda, ok _extremely _glad I wasn't the object of Erza's displeasure anymore. Natsu started cleaning faster, as if he could do a great job this shift Erza's wrath would disappear overnight. Ha. Poor Natsu.

I finally work up my courage to gain Erza's attention after a painful few seconds, painful because in her anger Erza had subconsciously tightened her grip on my shoulder until there was no doubt in my mind that when I got undressed that night I would see her handprint in the form of bruising on my shoulder. "Ehm, excuse me," I spoke up in a small voice. Erza seemed to come back to herself as she blinked down on me.

"Sorry, Lucy," she apologized with a thin, but sincere smile, pulling (yanking, actually) me to my feet.

"Its fine," I replied easily, trying not to wince at the bruises. "I better get to it! See ya later!" I wave to her as I walk in and she waves back before returning to her post. I let out a small sigh of relief when I make my way to the roaring fire in the corner of the tavern's main hall. With it pretty chilly and so forbidding outside what with all the storm clouds in the sky, I was happy to be by such a warm fire with the friendly regular customers. Near the fireplace, benches, chairs, pillows and blankets (the latter two carefully kept away from the flames) were crowded around and occupying/using them were some familiar faces. Vijeeter was one of them, a traveling minstrel apparently, though he hadn't been doing much traveling since he had been there since I started working at Fairy Tail… A few years back. Somehow he always managed to gain enough money from true travelers who stayed at the inn by entertaining them. He usually danced and ranted about becoming one with your spirit through dance or something like that. He doesn't have much talent… Even so, although Vijeeter didn't realize it, he was pretty funny so while holding back snickers customers would occasionally throw a few Jewels into his woven basket.

"Heeey, Lucy's here!" Vijeeter cheers while doing a strange dance involving somehow managing to touch the tip of his right foot's big toe to the back of his head while flailing his arms wildly.

"Hi Vijeeter! Hey, is that a new dance?"

Vijeeter jutted his chest out proudly while somehow managing to maintain his balance. "You bet! It's called the _Puny Dance."_

"Cool," is my reply as I smile and nod, not sure of what to make of it. _What about that dance implies the term "puny"_, I had wondered. _Ah, well. As long as Vijeeter is happy its cool._

Reedus Jonah, a man in his late twenties, looked up from a portrait he was painting to greet me. He wore a black top hat and a dark vest over white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. "Lucy," he said with a smile and nod, my name possessing a kind of accent native to his home kingdom somewhere East of Fiore. I don't know why Reedus stays at Fairy Tail, painting portraits for a minimal sum. His work is awesome! A true work of art. I said as much and he blushed, mumbling his usual BS as an explanation to why he is still at Fairy Tail. Okay, thats not completely fair. The weather really was not looking so great as I mentioned earlier, _but still. _He _always _has an excuse, even if its perfectly sunny out!

"Alright, so for those of you who don't know me my name is Lucy! I'm the waitress here for tonight, so if anybody wants anything feel free to give me a holler!" I memorized the orders easily. I used to have a pretty bad memory but after spilling ink on my apron one to many times and nearly poking someone's eye out with a quill, I decided it was high time I suck it up and start practicing.

Speaking of that someone whose eye I nearly poked out, I noticed Lord Gray Vastia shuffle into the tavern, head down and spiky, short raven black hair covering his dark blue eyes. I was pretty surprised. Although Fairy Tail was really popular, it wasn't exactly a place you would see nobles hang out, I made sure of that before joining up, but Gray wasn't exactly your typical noble. He likes excitement and action, something rarely found at an average noble manor, I should know. He also truly cares about the commoners, even risking his life to save a young girl when a fire caught next door, though you wouldn't think that at first glance. He always wears the most expensive clothing (if he's wearing anything at all, long story) along with a small version of his family sword-like crest symbol that hangs on a silver chain around his neck, blatantly showing off his noble heritage. That night he had worn expensive looking black boots and a long sleeved, spotless white trench coat. Gray also has extremely pale skin, though he wasn't sickly. A testament to his lack of outdoor activity, something nearly impossible to avoid if you are a plebeian. The thing that would catch your eye the most though at first glance is the way he holds himself. It wasn't arrogant exactly, well, maybe; at least he did his best to appear arrogant when talking to Natsu for some reason. The point is that he always has his head high and he _saunters, _like he has all the time in the world. He never runs anywhere, but he _shuffles _with his head _down _of all things even less! Hence, I became surprised and fairly worried for my good acquaintance. I wasn't the only one who noticed either. The girls who actually hang around the tavern like loyal little puppies waiting for Gray to come by instantly perk up at his arrival and then begin to panic in dismay when they notice his countenance. Gray just passes them up, another shock. Usually he'd throw them a bone in the form of a flirtatious wink or when he's annoyed kick them in the form of a scathing, sarcastic comment. Alright, enough with the dog jokes, they're getting kinda weird.

Anyhow, despite all of those strange deviations from the norm, Gray stuck to one of his regular actions. He sat down on Natsu's side of the bar instead of Mirajane's, even though Mirajane's side of the bar had a few stools still available. A few years back and I would think this is real weird. I mean, it wasn't a rare site to see Gray leaving Fairy Tail with a pretty girl or two wrapped around his arms, so why wouldn't he sit down with Mirajane more often? She's a beautiful young lady with long silver hair, big blue eyes with a bright smile that never wavers and Natsu… Well, Natsu and Gray couldn't be anymore different. Gray is a prideful noble. Natsu is a prideful commoner with barely a Jewel to his name. Gray only wears the best clothes, Natsu wears shorts, sandals, an oddly designed white scarf and an open vest with no shirt underneath. Gray loves the cold weather, Natsu loves the heat. They both are pretty attractive, I admit, but Gray can be a bit of a player occasionally while Natsu couldn't be more dense when it comes to girls. Gray is cunning and calculative while Natsu is brash and reckless. Get the idea? Still, the two young men share a sort of friendship that I'd never expect. Natsu always manages to press the other's buttons just the right way when Gray is stressed out so they end up starting a brawl and for some reason Gray always seems more relaxed after the fight. Fights between the two are such a common occurrence that all of the bouncers besides Erza has stopped trying to break them up and no one would dare kick a noble out, not even Erza as she has a stiff respect for authority and the hierarchy system.

Other times when Gray is down like he was then, Natsu would doggedly try to find out what was wrong and try to help, like a persistent, annoying younger brother. That day was one of those times. Natsu raised an eyebrow as Gray sat down on a brown wooden stool in front of him, head still hanging and lips pursed tightly in a pensive manner. Natsu finally stopped his mad rush to impress Erza, or at least attempt to appease her sudden anger. Setting his wash rag to the side, he asked loudly in his oh so delicate manner, "Oi! Mr. Doom'n'Gloom! The Hell's wrong with you?" Natsu set his arms on the bar and leaned forward, a frown on his face.

Gray rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Just be quiet, idiot barmaid. Get me something strong. I don't care what it is."

"Oi! Don't order me around!" Natsu protested loudly, prompting Gray to lean away lest his ear drums burst. Gray didn't respond to their usual banter though, just motioned for Natsu to hurry up.

"Tch, Jerk," Natsu grumbled, but his heart wasn't into it any more as went to grab a bottle on a shelf underneath the bar, stealing worried, confused looks at Gray all the while.

At this point I'd went to the kitchen to grab some of the guests' orders. Nab Lasaro was the cook tonight. He's a nice guy in his late twenties with tan skin and straight black hair that reaches his chin. He is tall, bulky and it would be hard to imagine him being a cook of all things if he didn't have that potbelly. I move to the table next to him to gather the food he has prepared, mouth watering slightly at the savory smell that wafted from it all, when I realized something. "Um, Nab?"

Nab gave a questioning grunt around a mouth full of crackers as he one-handedly stired a slowly boiling stew with a long wooden spoon.

"Where's Reedus' dish?"

Nab paused his stirring to give me a bewildered look before he suddenly looks sheepish. Swallowing the crackers so he could properly speak, Nab scratched his head bashfully. "I think I forgot."

I'm pretty sure I actually sweat-dropped here. "You _think _you forgot," I repeated in a deadpanned tone of voice.

"Well, he always gets just a bowl full of fruit so since it's the easiest to put together I saved it until last… Then Mirajane told me that a customer wanted me to surprise 'im with some'em so I got excited and…"

I sighed, waving off his monologue with one slim hand. "Yeah, I understand. Mistakes happen. Sorry, Nab, I'm just kind of stressed out. Didn't mean to take it out on you."

Nab nodded in understanding, giving me a pitying look. "They're still hounding you about the debt?"

I nodded miserably and seeing my sadness Nab did the only thing he probably could think of to cheer me up, he offered me a cracker. I gave him a grateful smile and accepted it, nibbling on the edge. He gave me a hearty pat on shoulder and I was once again reminded of the bruises Erza gave me, but I didn't show it. "It'll get better," he told me gruffly.

I didn't see how it could.

A year back I attempted to go to a university. Worse. Mistake. Of. My. _Life_. At least, that is what I thought. I'd taken a loan from the bank, thinking I'd pay them back after I'd become a successful doctor. Ah, wouldn't that have been great? No politics. No loop holes. No underhanded business deals. Just honest to God work, fighting disease, saving people. Nothing involving the family business. That's the life I'd wanted. I guess it wasn't meant to be though. Although I'd made awesome grades, it was the little things that piled up and forced them to kick me out. You know, things like too many absences due to working late into the night and being passed out in bed in the morning when I should be at school. Missing mandatory field trips when I have to continue working in order to keep up with my rent. Forgetting to wear "school appropriate" clothing (yuck! My skirts are fine and not a century out of fashion, thank you very much!). Punching an idiot in the face for calling me a slut. Kicking said idiot in manly, private area for then calling me a violent bitch… Perhaps or perhaps not attempting to change a bad grade belonging to a close friend when a terrible sickness caused her to miss an important, no make-ups final and then maybe, just _maybe, _getting caught while doing so.

So, you know. Little things like that. Heh.

Moving on, after I was kicked out I had a huge debt lingering over my head and after six months they started calling it in since the original agreement was that that'd happen after I was out of school for six months. As one could guess, having not finished school and currently only making just enough money to survive off of, I wasn't able to raise the minimum amount needed for the first few payment and even though I sent what I could they still raised the interest on me. What a bunch of jerks. Couldn't they understand that a girl needs to pay rent? And buy food? But most importantly rent, my land lady was _sca-ary_. Not Erza-scary mind you, but still… I soon had to move out of my nice little apartment by the canal and get one of the employee rooms at Fairy Tail. Its… something. I love Fairy Tail to death and everyone in it, I promise you, but… They have some pretty _weird_ habits. For example, Erza has a tendency to take showers at weird times (and by that I mean at like one in the morning) and due so while _singing_. Erza's voice is not half bad actually, but geez, I can't sleep when she does that! Anybody else and I'd ask them to stop, but this is _Erza _we're talking about. Would _you _interrupt her relaxation time_?_ … I didn't think so! It's probably nearly as bad as ruining her strawberry cake… Lord help all of Fairy Tail if _that _happens again...

Wow… I seriously got off track and started rambling, didn't I? Sorry guys. Lately, I'm nervous… pretty much all the time and when I'm nervous I tend to ramble. By the end of my story you'll understand why I feel this way, I'm sure. For now though, lets continue where I left off which is… My debt. Right. Back then it was a serious problem to me. Now I can't help but giggle at the thought of it. So at the time I had both a debt to my menacing, but not Erza-level menacing, landlady and even bigger debt to the Bank of United Jerks, or, er, the Bank of the United People. Same difference.

I sighed again. "So, how about I just grab the fruit for you instead. Erm- where do you keep them?"

Nab blinked and gave me a grateful smile. He pointed to the hallway entrance behind me. "In the back room next to the ice chest."

I gave a curt nod. "Alright. Be right back." I spun around on one heel and grabbed a nearby bowl before I then headed to the back room. As I neared it I started to hear a voice I _swear_ was coming from the back room!

"Yum, yum, yum!" Suddenly the tone of voice changed as if the being in the back room was imitating being frightened. "No! Please don't eat us, oh-great-one!"

_What... _I'd thought, stunned from what I was hearing as I kept creeping forward.

"But I must! You're to yummy-in-my-tummy to resist!" The voice that sounded peculiarly like a child insisted before making exaggerated munching sounds.

_t__he actual hell?_I finished internally. _I__s some kid trying to steal from Fairy Tail? Well, I won't let him get away with it!  
__  
_With that in mind I swung the door open and pointed dramatically inside. "Gottcha!" I yelled, before the second time that night I sweat-dropped. Inside was not some sneaky kid, but a familiar blue cat, the remains of fish scattered around it. The cat- Happy, Natsu calls it- jumped with a startled "_MRRROW!" _It stared at me with its intent, beady black eyes; bits of raw fish guts clung to the fur on it's maw. I froze, twitched slightly, then backpedalled and slammed the door closed, convinced Natsu's pet cat was possessed by some evil spirit.

See, I've always been very superstitious. Ever since I was a small child I loved learning about and reading fantasy novels on Fiore's era of Rampant Magic. My Father's extensive library had no shortage of them, since he is so interested in that era as well. My Mama on the other hand detested anything even related to magic and tried her best to keep me away from anything even hinting it. Still, I couldn't help but be drawn to it and late at night I'd sneak to the library and snag a book or to. At one point in my tween years I had tried to learn and use magic from the vague descriptions in history and fiction books and meditated regularly, having read that that is supposed to increase one's magical capacity… After witnessing the Knights of Fiore arrest a man for sorcery in the capital when on an outing with Mama though, I quickly changed my mind. It was horrible. The knights had dragged him, a local blacksmith, out of his home while he was kicking and yelling. Neighbors, afraid and angry of a man they once thought to be a valuable part of their community, encouraged the knights fervently. Suddenly, right before my eyes, I saw an almost demonic, purple flame cover the man's arms though he didn't seem to be burning in the least. Two of the knights that were trying to restrain him weren't so lucky. Onlookers started screaming and running like cattle on a stampede when the purple fire caught onto the Knight's fabric underneath their polished, impressive armor. My Mama, the servants who accompanied us and I could barely move without being shoved back into place by someone who they themselves was trying to escape the scene of such an atrocity. Because of this, I could still see between the bodies of fleeing citizens what was happening. The knights had naturally fallen down to the ground and rolled about to put out the fire as all young Fiorians are taught to do in such a situation. In their panic though they had forgotten that the fire was underneath the their armor… All they were really accomplishing by rolling around was pressing the demonic flames closer to their body and helping the rest of their clothing underneath their armor catch fire. A few of the other knights had rushed forward to attempt to help their comrades, trying to pry their armor off their already burned bodies, but it was already to late. The flames must have been ten times hotter than anything to be found in nature since in the span of a few seconds their armor actually _melted _and _merged_ with their skin.

The screams of those who saw it all were terrifying.

The screams from the victims of the demonic flames themselves were plain _agonizing._

I finally was able to pry my eyes away from the stunning scene as my Mama hugged me tight and pressed my face into the pink lace of her corset. "_Close your eyes tight, sweets," _she told me soothingly, running one hand through my at the time short hair. "_Because magic like this is just a bad imagination gone rampant, so if you close your eyes tight and imagine three good things instead, only good things can come of it." _I did as she told me. I shut my eyes so tight that it hurt and I thought of three good things. I thought of the delicious treats Spetto would sometimes sneak from the kitchen and give to me. I thought of playing with my doll, Michelle, in the Heartfilia family gardens. I thought of Mama… and her warmth while holding me.

The screams soon stopped and it was deathly quiet. When I opened my teary brown eyes again I saw the knights who had been the unfortunate victims of the demonic fire. They were now just smouldering husks, but at least that fire was gone. On his knees not to far away was the blacksmith who started it all, eyes bulging and mouth agape. Shock, sadness and terror were plainly shown on his face, not the maniac grins normally depicted on the faces of all criminal mages as shown in the hand drawn pictures of journalists. He was average looking, really, with dirty brown hair and a round face. He was middle aged and fairly muscular, as all blacksmiths have to be. The only really distinguishing thing about him was a jagged scar above his right eyebrow, probably from some accident in his workshop. It currently twitched randomly as he trembled, staring at his hands that didn't have a burn on them, glancing ever so often to the smouldering husks of the knights he had just killed in front of an audience. Their skin, unlike his, were horribly frayed, parts still slowly bubbling and a disgusting, angry red. The worse though were their eyes that were… simply not there, burned right out of their sockets. I remember thinking, _They didn't close their eyes fast enough, tight enough or maybe didn't think good enough thoughts__, _like if they had done all those things they'd still be alive today. Maybe they would have.

"N-no, I didn't… Did not…" The blacksmith muttered from where he knelled and everyone's wide eyed gaze turned to him as he continued, voice rising into a full blown panic. "I didn't mean- It was an _**ACCIDENT **_I _**SWEAR**_!" He crawled forward and the onlookers that had been to brave/stupid to leave before then and those like myself, my Mama and company who simply hadn't been able to all immediately backed away. The mage's movements were jerky and spontaneous as he crawled, groping for the blue and yellow striped tunic of the nearest, remaining knight. "_Please,_" he begged pitifully, desperately. "You _have _to believe me!"

But the knight didn't respond, only bringing up his spear and ramming the butt of it into the other's stomach. The mage fell back, bending over himself and coughing violently. Blood and tears mix as the latter pours from his eyes and the former drips from his mouth. The blunt end of the spear is brought up again and slams into the man's back, knocking him flat into the ground as the butt of the spear then swings to the side and knocks him hard in the head. The now unconscious mage was quickly but efficiently bound by chains and dragged away, leaving the citizens still milling about to stand in shock, staring at the bodies and the a puddle of blood from the newly discovered mage. In the corner of the round-about street stood a journalist, scribbling away on some paper with shaky hands, a quill and a bottle of thick, black ink.

A few weeks after the incident I had woken up one morning and wandered to the breakfast dining room, quiet as a mouse while clutching Michelle to my chest. It took me several months to fully overcome the scarring of that incident and in that time I was the exact opposite of my usual self that we all know and love. I was shy and super quiet, so its no surprise why my parents didn't notice me when I crept into the room, their backs facing me and all.

"See," my Father had been saying, stabbing a finger at the newspaper he was reading. "_This _is what happens when a mage learns by themselves and is untrained!" he insisted in his gruff manner and I could see the edges of his blonde mustache quivering in anger from where I stood.

"No," my Mama stated from her red, velveteen sit to my Father's right; her manner was plaintive and stiff. "This is what happens whenever magic is involved in anything."

My father gave a disgruntled grunt. "You know that's not true."

"It is true," was my Mama's crisp, short reply.

Father just gave another displeased grunt.

I shuffled forward, curious to what they were discussing. Over Father's shoulder I saw a large black and white picture on the newspaper. I was stunned. It was obviously hand drawn and then put to a printer, a painstaking, long chore that was much harder to be completed than printing letters, since the letters only needed to be rearranged on a printer. Because of this, it was rare for pictures to be in newspapers, but this is not why I was surprised. I was surprised by what the picture depicted. It was a man, I could tell, but it might as well have been a demon from his malevolent expression. He had a sickening grin that made me shiver, and on both of his arms fire seemed to dance, like it had a life of its own. I grew worried. _Is another mage loose in the Capital? _was my concern, but I soon realized that I was wrong, because just then, above this man's right eyebrow, I noticed a familiar, jagged scar...

**MAGE FROM THE CAPITAL EXECUTED AFTER BURNING ALIVE TWO KNIGHTS.  
****  
**The article's title read.

**ARE WE SAFE? OR IS THIS JUST THE BEGINNING?**

The article continued on in big, bold letters after the title.

In an instant I had been once again reminded of that day, and even though the Heartfilla Manor was always filled with the scent, I once again smelt the nauseous odor of burning flesh and lemme tell you… You'd never mistake _that _for roast beef or something like that… Even the memory of it can make you feel ill, as I did then. So… I did what Mama told me to do that day. I closed my eyes tight, so tight it hurt, and thought of three good things to make the bad memory go away. I don't remember what the first two were, but when I thought of the third, the wonderful smell of flowers that always filled the Heartfilla Manor, that nauseous odor finally disappeared. From then on I did what my mom told me that day everytime I got frightened of the supernatural. At night, when I had just woken from vivid, startling dreams and saw a dark, deformed figure at the foot of my bed, I would close my eyes tight and think my three good things. The figure was gone when I opened my eyes again. In the daytime when I thought I heard strange, frightening sounds coming from just below my feet, I would close my eyes tight and think three good things. I wouldn't hear anything after that for several hours.

So, when I thought one of my best friend's possessed cat was in the back room, separated from me by only one, wooden door, I closed my eyes tight and thought my three good things. When I opened my eyes again and pushed the wooden door open, there was no possessed cat, or remains of raw fish guts anywhere for that matter. I forced myself to breath and walked forward with that bowl I took from the kitchen in hand. I made sure to fill that bowl up with only the best fruit we had. I made sure to tie the fruit bag tight afterwards. I made sure none of the balancing fruit dropped out while I walked away.

I made sure to ignore the open ice chest in the corner. The one that was nearly always locked and stored fresh fish.

I stiffly brought back the bowl of fruit to the kitchen, piling it and all of the other orders onto one tray before I hefted it, balancing it on one hand. After a few years of doing this, my arms have become very muscular, muscular for a girl anyhow, and my balance is flawless. I brought out the food to the respective guests and busied myself with listening to the sounds of laughter, clanging mugs, sloshing liquid, friendly conversation and lively music. The lively, upbeat music came from an old but good piano next to the bar. I turn to see who was playing and found it to my startlement that it was Elfman, the man who was supposed to be Fairy Tail's bouncer tonight and who was also MiraJane's little brother, although it is difficult to picture him being _little _anything. He towers over everyone else that works in the tavern, even though he is only eighteen, only one year older than me. He's skin is tan and he is really muscular. One I first saw the white, spiky haired man with such dark eyes I was pretty intimidated, especially with that stitched scar underneath his right eye! That was before I got to know him. He's actually a really sweet guy who loves everyone in Fairy Tail and does his best to keep us safe. Apparently he had been hard at work doing the night before because then he was covered in bandages with obvious bruises on the areas of his skin that was not covered by mentioned bandages… Which were few and far inbetween. Despite his condition, Elfman was very cheerful that evening and sported a large grin on his face as he played that upbeat tune on the piano that everyone seemed to really enjoy. It was a nice change from the gloomy looking weather outside.

I slid over to Evergreen's table, still looking curiously at Elfman. "What happened to Elfman?" I ask her curiously, knowing that she would know.

Evergreen, a locally famous singer who sang regularly at Fairy Tail for a generous sum, glanced at me and grimaced. "The idiot got into a fight with Bacchus last night. He's lucky he's so hardy or he'd broken several bones…" Evergreen complained before taking sips from her alcoholic beverage and mumbling in between in an obviously concerned tone, "Or worse…"

My eyes widened in shock. "_Bacchus! _The _Drunk Falcon?!" _I questioned, leaning back and gasping.

Evergreen nodded, long, curly brown hair bobbing next to her face. "That's him," she confirmed, pushing back her silver bifocals so it once again covered her dark brown eyes.

Bacchus, calmly known as the Drunk Falcon, is, you guessed it, a notorious drunk in Magnolia, the merchant city Fairy Tail is located in. He is also known for being scary dangerous. He is as tall as Elfman and very muscular, though not as bulky as Elfman. He hangs out at various taverns, most to afraid to kick him out despite his distinct lack of care for who he offends and ever willingness for a fight. I saw him once before. It was a night shift and Erza was the bouncer. He had stumbled, somehow already drunk, and right off the bat started ordering booze from MiraJane. He flirted with her in his perversius way… Have a mentioned he's also a notorious pervert? Anyways, MiraJane handled herself fine with that ever bright, cheerful smile in place and brushed off his lewd comments with ease, avoiding his hands like a graceful dancer. I, on the other hand, wasn't so graceful. I passed by him once to welcome a new patron that just entered when he gropped me. I shrieked, and dumped hot brew right on top of that nasty pervert's head. He shrieked and it was nearly as high-pitched as mine. "_Serves you right!" _I yelled indignantly, scrambling away just as Erza rushed in from right outside the door to see what happened. After cussing some rather vile things at me, Bacchus stood up, red faced, and dropped back into a back stance.

_Is he going to fight _me_?!_ I'd thought, panicking. I knew some self defense, my father made sure of that and hired a tutor for me when I still lived at the Heartfilla Manor. Still, I wasn't near the level of the Drunk Falcon! It was said that when he fought drunk (at that time he had been completely wasted) he actually fought _better, _not worse! Hence, the nickname.

Fortunately, Erza (bless our resident, friendly, she-demon's heart) intervened with a side kick to Bacchus' side that sent him sprawling into a nearby table. The table broke, sending splinters everywhere, including a few deep one's in Bacchus' arms, but he was soon up in a flash, fists a blur as he showed off his signature martial arts style. To our shock, Bacchus matched Erza move for move! Soon though, when the fight had moved outdoors, we realized that he didn't have as much stamina as Erza and was slowly tiring as they went at it. Still, anything could have happened, so unexpected was their every move, that some were a bit disappointed when a nearby patrol of local soldiers broke up the fight. Natsu was one of those.

"If Bacchus had won, then that would have proven Erza is not invincible and that I have a chance at beating her someday!"He pouted childishly.

I shot him an annoyed glare. "Idiot. Did you even think what'd've happened if Erza lost?! Our friend would be hurt and I-I…" My voice trailed off.

Natsu gave a dismissive wave. "You know Erza, she'd be fine the next day! And geez, Lucy, you don't have to worry! I'd protect you from Bacchus and wouldn't let that bastard lay a hand on ya!" He gave me a toothy grin, showed his muscles on his right arm and set his left hand on them, right hand forming a tight fist.

"Oh?!" I shot back, angrily flailing my arms. "And how do you figure you'd win if Erza couldn't, huh?!"

"Well, by then I'd know the majority of his moves and how he fights, while he wouldn't anything about me. Also, did you notice that he was already starting to tire? He's not used to fighting for long periods of time, but my stamina is great and I'm all fired up!" he informed happily with his signature catch phrase.

I'd promptly sulked at his logic. The lovable idiot, although definitely an idiot, is strangely a genius when it comes to fighting…

I remembered all of this as Evergreen told me what happened the night before. "How'd he beat Bacchus? I remember Erza was hard pressed even to lay one hand on him!"

"He stood there…" was Evergreen's simple answer as I leaned forward, eager to learn what had happened.

"...and?" I prompted.

"And… That's it."

"What?" I blinked owlishly at her.

Evergreen sighed, pushing her mug away from her as she gave me a deadpanned look. "Elfman challenged Bacchus, saying that he bet Bacchus wouldn't able to take him down and that Bacchus would wimp out at his first injury. Bacchus took the bait, started beating Elfman up and Elfman just… stood there," she explained to me, looking like she had a bad taste in her mouth. Probably did, alcohol tastes horrible in my opinion. Anyways-

"Then how did he win?!" I demanded to know, incredulous.

Evergreen's pretty face turned into an ugly scowl at the demand, but she went on anyways. "After several minutes Bacchus' punches begin to slow and he messed up, hitting Elfman with the wrong knuckles. He hesitated, clutching his hand, and in that moment Elfman smashed his face in. In one, good punch Elfman sent Bacchus into the wall and knocked him out." Evergreen grinned and seemed to take sadistic pleasure as she said the last sentence, not that I blame her or anything.

"Wow," I breathed, my respect for Elfman raising even higher.

Evergreen smirked. "That's right."

I realized something at the moment and pursed my lips thoughtfully.

"Hey, Ever?" I said, using the twenty year old's nickname derived from her stage name. I don't think anybody knows her birth name.

"Hm?"

"Who was the lady Bacchus hit on this time?"

To my amusement, Evergreen quickly looked away like I hadn't said anything and started fiddling with her beautiful, if rather revealing, strapless, green dress. I snickered. "No wonder he won. Elfman can be pretty amazing when he's determined, huh?"

Ever calmed down, turning her attention back to Elfman cheerfully playing the piano. "Yeah…" she agreed softly.

I smiled at the pair. It was common knowledge that they both love each other, its just the two are too thick-headed to realize it.

After a minute of quietly sitting down with Ever, I saw something that made my heart sink and smile slip from my face. Gray was slumped over his drink, one hand to his forehead and as I stared I saw a small droplet hit the bar. Natsu stood on the exact opposite of the bar, frowning, arms tightly crossed and brows knitted together in apparent sympathy. _Gray is crying… Why is Gray crying?!  
__  
_Over my time at working at Fairy Tail I have learned a useful trick, reading lips. From the angle I was at though I could only see Natsu's face so I decided I had to get to a better spot to find out what is going on, curiosity getting the better of me, I'll admit. I stood up from Evergreen's table and after I checked to make sure all the patrons under my care were satisfied, I went over to lean against the piano as Elfman played. "Congratulations, Elfman!" I said over the music, smiling. "I heard about your fight with Bacchus!"

Elfman looked up and grinned widely. "Thank you, Lucy! It was a hard fight, I'll admit, but in the end only true, honest men can be victorious!"

I laughed, nodding. "You bet!" Elfman was always going on about being a "true man" and only did things that he deemed were "manly". Piano playing happened to fall into that category, so if you said anything to the contrary you'd have an upset Elfman and a very upset Mirajane on your hands. Elfman would pout for a few days, but a very upset MiraJane is someone you do _not_ want to have. Mirajane practically runs the rumor mill in Magnolia, and she is not above using it to her advantage… Or for revenge for messing with her "little" brother. Last guy I heard who did that stayed in his room, crying for a week, before the constant questions about his sexual life got too much for him and he was forced to move. Then again… That just might be a rumor Mirajane spread to intimidate everyone. She isn't above that either. Mirajane, as you can tell, is very protective of her family in Fairy Tail, but especially of her blood-related brother.

"Is that a new song you composed?" I asked Elfman in a friendly manner while casually leaning against the piano, this position just so happening to give me an excellent view of Natsu and Gray.

"Yes!" Elfman exclaimed, pleased that I noticed. "It is a true man's song!' he declares, quickly thumping his chest with one fist for info since before returning his hand to the appropriate keys.

I laugh lightly, training my attention on Natsu just in time to see him say, "Your mom wouldn't want you to drink yourself under the table for all eternity. She'd want you to get out there and continue her work!"

My mood instantly became solemn. _Natsu is talking like… Oh no, poor Gray…_

Gray shook his head slowly. "It's too much, Natsu. If I can't even save my brother, how am I supposed to save _them? _My uncle is right..."

_Them? Who's them? And right about what? _I thought in utter bewilderment and concern.

Natsu grounded his teeth together in frustration. "You didn't make the cut once, so what?"

"So what…?" Gray repeated in question form, too stunned by what Natsu was saying to be angry.

"You think Lyon would want you to give up on others, just 'cause you couldn't save him?! Hell no! Oi- look at me! Don't hang your head like some teary-eyed chick! Look at me, damn it!" Natsu grabs Gray's shoulder, shaking the other boy fiercely.

My eye twitched slightly at the 'teary-eyed chick' comment, but I of course didn't say or do anything. This exchange was obviously very important between the two, and as I thought about it… _I've never seen Gray bring over any friends or even mention any for that matter. Is Natsu his only real friend, or, er- Frienemy? They do seem to fight as much as they console and encourage each other, after all…  
__  
_Gray meanwhile raised his head and looked at Natsu miserably. Natsu stops shaking Gray but Natsu's hold on the other's shoulder visibly tightens. "_Well?_ Do you think Lyon would want you to quit?! To hide in your uncle's shadow?!"

Gray shook his head no slowly.

"That's right!" Natsu snapped in turn. "He'd tell you to get your butt into gear and stop moping around, there's work to do! And don't you _dare _listen to Uncle! He doesn't have your best interest at heart. He's a greedy old bastard, and you know it!"

Gray stared up a Natsu, eyes wide, probably at some, fundamental truth in his words and his gall for talking so horribly about a noble when Natsu is just a commoner himself. That's Natsu for you… He tells you it as it is, no matter how painful, dangerous or rude it is.

"You're… right," Gray admitted, then grimaced, seeming to hate the fact that Natsu could be right at anything.

Natsu gives that toothy grin of his. "Hell yeah I am!" he cheers, patting his frienemy on the shoulder before seeming to sniff indignantly, as if the mere idea that he could be anything _but_ right offended him greatly.

Abruptly, yet slowly, Natsu turned his head toward me. Quickly, I occupied myself with look down at Elfman as he played, but I felt as though Natsu's dark eyes were burning holes into me. When the pressure became too great, I risked a glance at Natsu. He was definitely looking at me and as he noticed me glance, his grin seemed to become even more intense. Evergreen at that moment thankfully asked for a refill and I quickly and happily shuffled away to meet her demand, embarrassed and ashamed at being caught eavesdropping, even if it was only by Natsu who I had caught eavesdropping several times himself.

When I got back with Evergreen's chosen alcoholic beverage, I was shocked when right off the bat she chugged it down. Usually she only took small sips… "Um…" I said oh-so-intelligibly, out right staring at her. In a distinctly un-ladylike fashion Ever wiped her mouth on her arm, another breach of normality. _First Gray and now Evergreen? If this keeps out the fabric of space will be breached and not just normality__, _I thought wryly, remembering a humor fiction book were the main character makes a decision so out of character that it destroys the fabric of space and time.

After noticing me staring at her, Evergreen gives me a wry, mischievous grin. "I'm going to need all the alcohol I can get for what I am about to do."

"What are you about to do?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow, but she didn't answer me. Instead, she chugged some more of the alcohol down before slamming the mug down with a loud _clank._ Then, I kid you not, she sauntered up to Elfman and slide on top of the piano. So startled was Elfman he hit a wrong key and stopped playing altogether. Pretty much everyone automatically turned to see why Elfman stopped playing and all who looked were surprised to say the least.

"Oh my," I heard MiraJane comment as she moved a fairly pale hand to cover her mouth, giggling all the while.

_No doubt it, this is going to be circling the rumor mill for a loooong time, _I thought with plenty of amusement before returning my attention to Elfman and Evergreen just in time to see the later motion for the former to continue. After a few moment's hesitation, Elfman obliges and that upbeat melody he composed starts up again.

"_I've been down on my luck, kicked to the curb-" _I stared astonished as Ever proceeded to sing lyrics I've never heard before, lyrics she probably made up at the drop of the hat while watching Elfman. As I glanced around the hall I saw many of the patrons outright gaping. Those who knew her knew that she practiced, practiced, _practiced _before doing any performance… And yet here she was, doing this with _Elfman _out of the blue.

I glance at MiraJane to see her eyes practically sparkling with happiness and her smile taking on a mischievous tinge as she watches her "little" brother make music with his long time crush. _Oh yeah…. MiraJane is just gonna have a field day with this. _I laughed quietly and returned my attention to Elfman and Ever. "_And I've been looking around town and what do I see but you, boy, staring back at me!"_

"Dun. Daaa-daa-da-dun-dun," went the melody, complementing Ever's tone of voice perfectly.

Cana, an off-duty coworker that had apparently stopped by for a drink, and I shared a look of pure amusement and pleasant surprise. Ever, usually up-tight and haughty, had never before sung a song like this, usually sticking to slow, romantic songs or songs with fast, sassy words. This was a (kinda) romantic, fast, silly song… But the crowd was eating it up! After the general surprise was overcome, people started humming and tapping the tune. A few tried singing the chorus, butchering and stumbling over words the first few tries but after which they got the hang of it. Soon, it seemed like everyone was singing it.

"-_lookin' 'round town and what do I see but you, boy, staring back at me_!" I decided to join in one chorus as I bustled around, collecting piles of plates, bowls, spoons and the like that had been forgotten in all the excitement.

I almost dropped it all though when I am startled by the familiar yell/groan of, "The _hell, _Gray! Not again! Put your freakin' shirt back on!" from Natsu as he facepalms at his drunk frienemy who had already shrugged off his trench coat and was now working on his shirt.

As I hinted at before, Gray has a bad habit, of, well, stripping when he gets drunk. Said noble glares at Natsu angrily. "Shut up, idiot barmaid! I'll do whatever I want! I'm a noble, damn it!" To show his defiance and anger at being ordered around by such a lowly "idiot barmaid", he sluggishly threw his shirt away from him and it promptly landed on top of one of those girls that waits for Gray like a loyal puppy. She immediately squealed, hugging the shirt and looking like she was about to die of happiness right then and there. Other girls hop up from there respective chairs and scoot closer, having probably hoped to catch their own smelly article of clothing. I shook my head at Gray's, Natsu's and the girls' antics as a nearby group of men roar with laughter at seeing a noble act in such a manner.

"Oi! I said cut it out!" exclaimed Natsu when Gray then started to pull down his pants _and _underwear at the same time. Panicking, Natsu threw his body half way over the bar and grabbed the edges of Gray's underwear and pants, holding it in place as the drunk noble attempted to pull it down.

"Let go of me right now, you filthy peasant!" Gray howled indignantly.

Natsu snickers. "Filthy peasant? Really? Is that the best you could come up with? Geeze, Gray, you must be _extremely _drunk to come up with that lame insult! You sound like an old man with a stick up his- wowa!" Natsu cries out suddenly when Gray tilts forward, falling and taking Natsu with him.

A scuffle on the floor occurred as Gray continued his attempt to strip while his bartender/enemy/possibly-on-friend attempted to stop him. "You'll thank me in the morning!" Natsu insisted when Gray threatened to have Natsu arrested. "Well, not immediately…" Natsu then adds as afterthought. "But after your hang-over you will!"

"I'm a noble!" Gray yelled randomly.

"Yeah? Well I'm _this _close to punching that noble face right now! Ugh- aren't princesses trained to be modest or some'em!?"

"I'm not some prissy princess!"

"Fine, you perverted stripper!"

"I'm not perverted either!" Gray protested loudly, though doesn't say anything about the other half of the insult. He then added to the joy of all his loyal puppies (if their high-pitched squealing was anything to go by) and the immense amusement of the other people watching (if their deafening laughter was anything to go by), "I'm just hot!"

After this Gray succeeded a bit too much for me to feel comfortable so I swiftly made my way to the kitchen in order to drop off the dishes I gathered earlier, hoping for Gray's sake that Natsu would able to stop him soon and that Gray would forget it all in the morning. I flash a friendly smile to the munching Nab before heading back out and sitting down at Mirajane's side of the bar with Cana.

"Keep it comin', Mira," Cana said, shortening the other woman's name and a little red on her cheeks as she holds her mug out.

Mirajane did as she is asked, smiling kindly at her fellow barmaid who seemed to drink more alcohol than she served. "Don't you think you've had enough for tonight, Cana?" she inquires, for probably the thousandth time trying to make the slim eighteen year old quit.

"Ha," Cana chuckled, as expected. Despite being such a slim, young lady, Cana was the hardest drinker in Fairy Tail and it took barrels practically to make her truly drunk. She could drink anyone under the table and still appear to have room for more.

"Real lively tonight," I remarked to my friends/family with a grin, motioning to the two groups of patrons crowded around either the piano or other side of the bar.

"It is," Mira agreed, seeming pleased, "Would you like anything, Lucy? I think its about time you took your break."

"Oh, thanks Mirajane. Water would be fine."

Nodding, Mira takes out a clean cup and a pitcher. Cana, meanwhile, finally seems to comprehend my presence. Although it takes a lot to get her truly drunk, she tends to be rather slow in the head when she's had over a certain amount. "Lucy! Just the gal I wanted to see," she commented happily, giving me a friendly slug on the arm.

"Yeah? What's up, Cana?" I asked in the same manner, rubbing my arm lightly. Cana also didn't really know her own strength when she drunk over that limit. _Boy, sometimes it seems like I get more bruises from my friends than anybody or anything else!_

"I took your advice!" the brunette cheered, raising her mug happily.

"That's great Cana!" I cheered with her, accepting the cup of water Mirajane handed me with a grateful look and taking a greedy gulp from it before returning my attention to Cana. "What'd he say?" When Cana joined up with Fairy Tail she had been down on her luck and desperate. Just before her mother died, her mother told her who her father is. Gildarts, one of the greatest bounty hunters/mercenaries in all of Fiore! Maybe _the _greatest! Unfortunately, bounty hunters and mercenaries never stay in one place for too long and when Cana searched for him she always seemed to be at least three steps behind since rumors about him sprang up everywhere. One person may say that Gildarts slew fifty Vulcans right outside his town when in reality Gildarts just camped out there for one night. Using up the last of her money her mother left her to get to Magnolia on what appeared to be fake rumor that said Gildarts planned on going to Magnolia in order to take a job, Cana was left stranded. Because of this she was forced to take a job and decided to work with one of her favorite things in the whole world, alcohol, and became a barmaid at Fairy Tail. A few weeks back though Gildarts had actually stopped by Fairy Tail for dinner! Turns out he had planned on taking a mercenary job in Magnolia but got side-tracked by another he encountered on the way here, one that took several months to complete. At first Cana was too shy to introduce herself but after a little convincing by your's truly, she went up to him outside one night and told him everything!

Cana suddenly looks sheepish, using the bottom edge of her mug to scratch the side of her head. "Well, he didn't say much. Just nearly squeezed me to death, all the while sobbing that he has a daughter."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" I gushed, leaning forward and hugging Cana.

Putting down the cup, Cana returned the embrace warmly. "Y-yeah…" she agrees, obviously embarrassed.

After allowing Cana to pull back, Mira stepped forward and lays a hand on Cana's shoulder. "That took a lot of courage to do, Cana… I'm," Mira sniffed a bit, blinking back tears. "So proud of you…"

"Ehhh- Mira, are you crying? Why are you crying?" Cana asked, wide eyed and confused.

"I'm just so proud of you~!" Mira insists again, leaning over the table to give the younger a tight hug.

"Ehhh-?!" Cana yells again in confusion, flailing her arms and looking to me for help. "I-it's nothing to be proud of, really! All I did was say hi to my old man-"

"But you've been looking for him all this time and you finally found him when it seemed like all hope was gone, but you never lost hope! It's so-"

"Ehm, Mirajane?" I said, body shaking with suppressed laughter. "Maybe we should give Cana a break, I don't think she can handle all this affection at once."

Mira leaned back, nodding in understanding at me. She whipped away her tears of joy with one hand and ruffles Cana's long, brown locks with the other before going back to work.

Cana looked at me, usually semi-straight hair a mess because of Mira's affectionate ruffle. "Er, what just happened?" she asked rhetorically, brown eyes wide, and I just snickered and shook my head. Cana smiled a bit as I laugh, shifting some in her chair and adjusting her top, if you can call it that. Her outfits never left much to be imagined. While doing this she pauses and so do I at hearing the sound of paper moving. She grinned devilishly at me all the sudden and I scooted my stool away from her some, gulping. "I just remembered…" she begun.

"Oh no," I whimpered, knowing nothing good ever came out of Cana's exploits when she wore an expression like that.

"... that I found something interesting when I was unpacking your stuff last night," she continued eyes narrowing into slits. Last night when I was at work Cana volunteered to help me unpack my stuff in my new room at Fairy Tail. Grateful for the help, I had readily agreed. I swiftly and mentally went through all of my possessions that might cause Cana to act like this. I came up with nothing at the time.

Out of her light blue bikini top (Cana has tendency to carry stuff around in there for some reason), she took out a neatly folded envelope that had many wrinkles in it, like it was crumbled up and then later smoothed out. She carefully unfolded it and held it up for me to see. My comically frightened expression instantly turned into a displeased scowl as I saw who sent it. I turned away. "I don't want anything to do with that man," I said firmly, lowly.

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Cana roll her own. She grabbed me by the shoulder and made me face her again. "Even if that _anything _includes, oh, I don't know…" Cana smirked. "10,000,000 Jewels?"

I stiffened. _10,000,000 Jewels…_I thought, stunned silent. _That would be enough to pay of all my debts, and then some! _My mouth practically salivated at the idea of having no debts… If there is anybody out there who is thinking of getting a large loan that you are not completely, 100% sure you will be able to pay off, learn from my mistakes and _don't take it. _Better to have only a few Jewels to your name than to have thousands after taking a loan, trust me. The latter is all a trick. Although it may seem you have thousands, in actuality you are in the negative thousands and who ever gave you the loan essentially owns _you _until you've payed every Jewel that you borrowed… Plus interest.

Bet you never expected to find a relevant life lesson in this type of story, huh? Well, its never good to _expect _anything. I had thought that I finally reached the bottom of the barrel with my money "crises" that night. I had _expected _things to get better, since I _believed_ things couldn't get any worse…

… That sounded really cliche, didn't it? A few weeks back and I would have rolled my eyes if I read that in one of my books. Just the same, here's another life lesson for you. Never expect the best. Just hope for it. Or does it go, hope for the best and expect the worst?

Either way, lets go back to that humid and cloudy Spring night in Magnolia, Fiore.

When I didn't respond Cana took the letter out of the envelope and shoved it into my hand. "Here," she said, as I looked down at it in disgust. "You should give it a read. From what I've read he seems really apologetic…"

"He damn well better be…" I mumbled between gritted teeth.

Cana ignored me. "And girl, you _need _that money. Don't even pretend that you don't."

I deflated a little, knowing that she was right.

Cana's voice softened when she then added. "Seriously, Lucy. Read it. Even if you decide to refuse, there is no harm in readin'..." Suddenly, Cana gives me a playful smirk. "Well, it might give Natsu some harm, but that's to be expected of 'im." She jerks her head toward Natsu who had by this time finally succeeded in keeping Gray from pulling down his pants and now was attempting to force back on the noble's shirt… Thing is, he was trying to force Gray's head through one of the sleeves and not where the head was supposed to go through, but Natsu seemed oblivious to this little fact. Gray meanwhile looked like he was downing or something, his head tangled up in his shirt as he flailed his arms outside of it wildly, smacking Natsu in the face a few times who couldn't retaliate if he didn't want to give back ground, so to speak. It was a pretty hilarious sight and served to to cheer me up.

"You, on the other hand," Cana said, motioning to me with her mug before downing half of it and continuing around a mouth full of alcohol. "You'll be fine."

Oh Cana. Oh, how you were blissfully unaware and probably are still blissfully unaware Cana… I envy you and hope you and your father are happy together at Fairy Tail.

I nodded, finally allowing myself to look down at the letter. If it wasn't for the wrinkles it would look very pretty. The paper wasn't the discolored, bumpy type that I had to get used to buying the last couple of years. This paper, without the wrinkles and ink, would have been completely straight and a pure white color all around. The ink my Father used to write with was also high quality, as it didn't smudge when I dragged the pad of one of my thumbs over it. His handwriting, like always, was flowing and flawless, a true testament to the practiced hand. It made me feel nostalgic for the life I had before my Mama's disappearance, I time when the three of us were reasonably happy together and I didn't have to worry about debts and the mundane tasks of cleaning dishes and sewing together ripped skirts because I don't have the money to spare to buy new ones… I do not regret leaving after Mama left though and I _definitely _don't regret joining Fairy Tail. I couldn't imagine my life _without _Fairy Tail. It's like imagining nutty butter and jelly without the jelly. It would just taste crusty and dry and _ick_…

There I go again, getting off track, dang it… Ok, the letter. I'm actually looking at it right now, though now its in a lot worse shape than just being wrinkled. To be honest, I'm not sure why I still have it with me, always carrying it around inside my pocket. At night, when everybody is asleep (or at least not paying direct attention to me), I have a tendency of taking it out and just _glaring _at it, like it's the source of all my troubles. I guess, that in a small way, it kinda is…

On that Spring, humid night though I didn't know what to think of it. I stared blankly at it for a few seconds. Although I knew it was from my Father (no one can write like he can), there is a few things about it that were distinctly un-Jude Heartfillia like. For example, when he addressed my stepmother… _Beloved Ultear_? _Wait, what_? I'd thought, and with good cause. Father always treated his wives like respected business partners, not someone to be loved and adored sweetly like a normal wife should. _Either Father is being sarcastic or… No, he's being sarcastic._Still, it was strange. Another thing that was strange to me was when he discussed this Dr. Fernandes. It was pretty obvious that he wanted Dr. Fernandes to be a romantic interest of mine, or did he? Since when did he _ever _want me to marry someone below our "standing"? He even made sure I never meet Gray while I lived under his roof out of fear that I'd love him, despite Father's constant dealings with the Vastia family!... And all because they are _minor _nobles, unlike the "prominent" Heartfillia family… _Like love cares about one's "standing", but I guess Father has never really cared about love to begin with…  
__  
_"Hmmm… A Haunted House Party, huh?" I murmured, frowning at the letter.

"Do you really not know your stepmom?" Cana asked curiously.

I nodded, looking up at her. "Yeah. I left a couple years back and didn't look back. Dunno how Father got ahold my address by the canal…" I remarked disapprovingly.

"So its _father, _huh? Ouch." Cana commented, frowning sympathetically at me.

I didn't

ow what to say, so I didn't say anything at all.

"I wonder what things my… stepmother has planned," I mused quietly, hesitating a bit before saying the word stepmother.

"Hum, well it mentioned ghosts…" Cana gives me a teasing smile. "Maybe she'll hire some people to dress up as ghosts and scare you all at night." She then proceeded to tilt her head to the side, letting her eyes glaze over as she makes ominous moaning sounds.

I leaned away, wrinkling my nose at the display. "Uh, I think that's more like an undead. I think a ghost would be more like, hm…"

Cana stopped her display to watch me with a raised eyebrow as I tapped my chin in thought. "Like this…" I then raised my hands, wiggling my fingers. "Ooooh~" In an attempted dark tone, my eyes squinted.

Cana just laughed. "Sure, if it was a cute, silly ghost."

I pouted, the looked up at Mirajane as she passed by. "What about you, Mira?" I questioned curiously.

"Hm?"

"What do you think one of my stepmother's ghosts would look like?"

"Well…" Mirajane began in her soft voice, wiping her wet hands off on her modest white dress with a pink bow. "Cana mentioned something about her having a morbid sense of humor so I think the ghost will look like… Hold on a moment please."

"Alright," I responded, blinking as Mira crouches behind the bar. There is the sound of shuffling behind there and Cana and I share an amused, bewildered look. Out a window on the far side of the hall I saw a bright strike of lightning and looked over there curiously, wondering if it had started to ra-

To small, deceptively frail looking hands slam down on the bar in front of me and at exactly the same moment a loud rumble of thunder seems to shake the tavern. Candles and lanterns all flickered as the figure in front of me, head tilted at an inhuman angle and something thick dripped from the possibly human's face, moaned darkly. Long hair blew in nonexistent wind as a scratchy voice hissed, "Why…?"

When all the lights flickered back on and the thunder subsided, the tavern was much quieter than it had been a few seconds before as people murmured to themselves, looking out the window. I realized that in our fright Cana and I had clung to each other and we were both staring at the same thing. The figure, that actually was just Mirajane.

Suddenly, my boss' claim about Mirajane once being a bounty hunter that could scare criminals to death with just one look… Didn't seem so far fetched anymore.

Mirajane wiped away that thick liquid that was actually just red paste from her face with a nearby rag. She smiled prettily at us. "How was that?" she questioned innocently before turning her attention to the window.

Cana and I stumbled over our words while attempting to congratulate her.

Outside the first droplets of water finally touched down on the ground, quickly picking up speed and its numbers swiftly increasing.

"Someone is going to have a rough journey home," Mirajane remarked sympathetically.

I couldn't help but silently disagree, though we were really thinking of two different things.

I crumbled up my Father's letter. "A rough journey home?" I repeated out loud softly before I threw the letter underneath the feat of Fairy Tail's patrons. _Not me__._

**Girl-of-Action- Sooo, long chapie as you now well know. I used to hate writing long chapters, but for some reason with this novel I can't help **_**but **_**do it… Anyways, I didn't really like the beginning of this chapter. It felt to boring, not a good way to start it but I just couldn't seem to write it any other way. I needed to introduce *shrug* I'm pretty satisfied with the ending though. It shows truly how much Lucy disdains her father in this fic, not willing to accept his help even when she is barely scraping by. Also… I'm not a songwriter people. Nope, no, not one bit! Therefore… I hope you will forgive me for Evergreen's little "song" there. Just blame it on the alcohol, ok? ^^;**

I tried to keep everyone in character as much as possible… How did I do? Any constructive criticism you can give me on their quirks? Oh! And to explain the mix up of different eras in history... If you study the anime/manga, you'll realize that it is the same. Medieval times(castles, kings, kingdom, guilds etc.), seventeen/eighteen hundreds(carriages, trains), twentieth century (automobiles, lacrima black and white movies)… Its all jumbled up! The only difference with this AU is they are not going to be near as advanced in some areas because of the lack of magic, so no magic automobiles and lacrima black and white movies I'm afraid… Anywho, that's all I can think of for the author's note right now.

Until later!


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